Business Brief

Plastic bag cartelSixteen makers of plastic bags for industrial goods were fined 290.7 million euro by the European Commission for operating a cartel in Germany, the Benelux states, France and Spain.

Euro inflation dipsEurozone inflation dropped to 2.4% from 2.5% the previous month and the eurozone economy grew 0.6% in the third quarter of 2005 from a year earlier, according to figures from the European Commission’s statistics office Eurostat published on Wednesday (30 November).

Customs-code tweak The European Commission adopted two proposals to simplify the EU’s customs code and to put the system online. European Taxation and Customs Commissioner László Kovács said that the proposals would improve security and reduce compliance costs for companies with businesses in the EU.

Cross-border moneyThe Commission will today (1 December) publish a proposal to improve the cross- border transfer of money. The New Legal Framework aims at legal harmony for companies offering payment services in the EU.